Political Reform Act of 1974: postgovernment employment.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibits a Member of the Legislature, for a period of one year after leaving office, from acting as a compensated agent or attorney for, or otherwise representing, any other person by making appearances before, or communications with, the Legislature or its committees, Members, or officers or employees, if the appearance or communication is made for the purpose of influencing legislative action. If the Member resigns from office, this prohibition applies from the effective date of the resignation until one year after the adjournment sine die of the session in which the resignation occurred. This bill would extend the time periods for these prohibitions for a Member of the Legislature to 5 years. Because a violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.